Historian calls for compulsory military training vets

About 86,000 New Zealand men were called up for compulsory military training (CMT) from 1950-72, and now historian Peter Cooke is calling them up again.

He wants their opinions for an authorised history being prepared on CMT and National Service, due for publication in 2010.

The men faced "possible annihilation on an atomic battlefield" and weren't even allowed to join the RSA, Mr Cooke said.

A questionnaire has been drawn up to learn how they felt when called up or balloted, how their training went and whether they had any physical or psychological problems.

The questionnaire was for anyone who went through the three-month CMT or National Service training, he said.

Mr Cooke can be contacted at petercooke@paradise.net.nz

- NZPA